Sometimes, Something or Someone Has to Give!
on Lynn Sellwood (The Gambia), 15/Nov/2010 08:35, 34 days ago
Painted resources on wallsI’ll get straight to the point. I want you to donate some money to a good cause, that is, to support Campama Lower Basic School in Banjul. It is a primary school which has 437 pupils between the ages of 7 and 13 and has a small nursery class too. Why this one? Only because I came across the staff team at a workshop and could see they were struggling in the face of poor resources, falling rolls and too many untrained staff. They were however very keen to improve and were just a very nice group of people. I made a commitment to raise funds to help them (and believe me” every little helps”).This is it!So, I would like all of my friends and ex colleagues to look at ways they could help raise funds. I am hoping to raise at least£3,000 in the first year. So start thinking whether that means that you send a donation or that you organise a fund-raising event from your friends or workplace!Some of Grade Six at the ceremony to give resourcesA colleague, Nick Timmons, from Orpington College and his wife Ramona, kindly bought a suitcase of goodies for the school when they visited The Gambia recently. I managed to visit the school and take the items (chalk boards, chalks, pencils, colouring pencils, pencil sharpeners and wall posters for the classroom) which were gratefully received. There was a welcoming party and the children, staff and parents were so excited that we were going to help.The welcoming committee, Mrs Jatta, Head Teacher,Mrs Njie from theMinistry, the Regional Advisor, and Chair of Governors.It was on this visit that the full paucity of resources is evident, the classrooms are mostly bare. The few displays are in the form of old rice sacks or paper stuck up with gaffer tape. Many of the displays are ruined by humidity. The classrooms are sparsely furnished and facilities for pupils and staff are poor. The toilets are basic, the water supply is from a single standpipe. There are no books in the library, there are not enough text books to go round and many teachers are ill prepared for teaching. There are unqualified teachers, teachers who are in their two year probationary training having completed a year in teacher Training College and only a few experienced teachers. A huge problem for the teachers is the language issue. Imagine, if you can, the fact that in The Gambia there are five local languages spoken and lots of the population speak at least two of them. English has been chosen as the language of commerce and civil service and is taught on entry to school. So, you have teachers, who speak English as a second/other language, teaching children who speak English as a second or other language. The room for mis-communication is immense and as all lessons are taught in English it is fraught with difficulty.Study the detail of this photo!My feeling is that money could be used to alleviate some of the physical difficulties in the school, we could buy furniture and books or could upgrade the toilet block and water supply but I also want to find ways of helping the teachers improve their own skills. The money could buy extra in-service training in English and Maths or child centred teaching techniques. Or some of you teachers or Teaching Assistants might prefer to buy a flight or holiday package to The Gambia and work in the school to support the teachers in situ. My thinking is that better trained teachers will have more of an impact on more children in the long run.The water tap!The playground Please have a think about this. I have tried to think about this very carefully and would appreciate your thoughts about what you could do. I am investigating a way for money to be donated but I can’t register a charity until we have £5,000 going through the books. A friend (an accountant)is looking at ways of making the system transparent and I am investigating another existing charity which could handle donations.They were singing "I'm a little teapot"What we do will be arbitrary and just a drop in the ocean but fate has put this school in my orbit and I really want to help them. The kids are from poor families in the capital, Banjul, and are just great as you can see from the photos. We are in the giving season and you might want to make a donation instead of sending Christmas cards? It is Tobaski (Eid) this week which also celebrates sharing wealth and sacrifice.I was practising my Wollof!I know that charitable giving is a problem for some people but I really want to reassure you that every penny will be spent appropriately with the full consent and agreement of the school staff, management committee and regional offices.